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Competition
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August 08, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Rethink OK'ing Ad Class Cert. Against Meta
The Ninth Circuit refused Thursday to rethink a split panel decision affirming certification of a damages class of potentially millions of advertisers who were allegedly deceived about Facebook's "potential reach" tool, rejecting Meta Platforms Inc.'s warnings of unchecked fraud class actions.
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August 08, 2024
Amazon Must Face Pandemic Price-Gouging Claims In Wash.
Washington's high court said on Thursday that Amazon can be sued under the state's Consumer Protection Act over alleged price-gouging early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but stopped short of agreeing with customers that the law bars specific markup percentages.
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August 08, 2024
Ark. Racing Commission Wants Out Of Licensing Dispute
The Arkansas Racing Commission wants out of a dispute between a Mississippi casino operator and two Cherokee Nation entities over a gambling license, saying it has nothing to do with an economic development agreement at the center of the litigation.
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August 08, 2024
Apple Must Produce Docs In Epic Antitrust Fight By Sept. 30
A California federal judge overseeing discovery in Epic Games' antitrust compliance fight with Apple gave the iPhone-maker a Sept. 30 deadline to hand over documentation on its response to foreign antitrust regulations and other internal documents, rejecting Apple's suggested December deadline and calling the 92,000-document review large but "not huge."
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August 08, 2024
Google Says Epic's Own Tech Experts Undermine Remedies
Google continued Wednesday to battle what it says would be a dramatic and costly overhaul of its Play Store if Epic Games is allowed to dictate the terms of an antitrust remedy, telling a California federal judge claims of a cheaper, easier solution are undermined by Epic's own experts.
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August 08, 2024
DOJ Investigating Formula 1 Over Andretti Denial
Formula One's owner Liberty Media Corp. disclosed Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating antitrust concerns surrounding the denial of Andretti Formula Racing LLC's bid to join the F1's championship series, following a letter from lawmakers.
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August 08, 2024
Colo. Trailer Dealership Says Would-Be Buyer Infringed TM
A Colorado trailer dealership is accusing a competitor that purportedly tried to buy its business of changing its public name to one confusingly similar to the dealership's registered trademark after the acquisition offer was rejected for being "much less than plaintiff's business was worth."
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August 08, 2024
Wilson Sonsini, A&O Shearman Guide $688M Biotech Merger
Salt Lake City-based Recursion said Thursday it has inked a deal to purchase fellow drug design and development company Exscientia for approximately $688 million, under the guidance of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC.
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August 08, 2024
Dechert Says Merger Abandonments Are Way Up This Year
In what's shaping up to be a banner year for antitrust enforcers, U.S. merger abandonments hit historic levels in the first half of 2024, according to a new report from Dechert LLP.
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August 08, 2024
FTC Tells 9th Circ. Booksellers Don't Belong In Amazon Case
The Federal Trade Commission and Amazon both urged the Ninth Circuit not to allow a trade association for independent bookstores to intervene in the government's antitrust case against the e-commerce giant, saying the group's claims are too different.
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August 08, 2024
Exec Admits Price-Fixing $100M Of Rebar For Storm Rebuild
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the guilty plea Wednesday of a former Puerto Rico steel distributor executive who admitted to fixing prices on rebar used for post-hurricane reconstruction, in a conspiracy that impacted more than $100 million in his company's sales.
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August 08, 2024
Funder Nera Capital Buys 50,000 Spanish Car Cartel Claims
Litigation funder Nera Capital has bought 50,000 claims for compensation valued at an estimated €1 billion ($1.1 billion) over a Spanish auto cartel involving many of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world, including General Motors and Honda.
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August 08, 2024
Barratt, Redrow To Engage With CMA Over Deal Concerns
Barratt Developments PLC and Redrow PLC said in a joint statement Thursday that they will address concerns raised by the Competition and Markets Authority regarding Barratt's planned takeover of its rival homebuilder for £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion).
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August 08, 2024
UK Launches Formal Probe Into Amazon's $4B AI Investment
Britain's antitrust authority launched a formal probe on Thursday into Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic, a U.S. artificial intelligence startup, as it seeks to establish whether it could harm competition in U.K. markets.
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August 07, 2024
FTC, CFPB Turn Up Scrutiny On Solar Energy Sales Practices
The federal government on Wednesday stepped up efforts to police shady solar energy sales and financing practices, with the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other agencies releasing consumer advisories and announcing a new partnership to better monitor the industry.
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August 07, 2024
Google 'May Not Be So Lucky' Next Time Over Chat Deletions
Google's stunning antitrust loss in D.C. federal court Monday dealt another blow against its policies of letting internal chats delete automatically, and it came with a callout of its practice of training employees to avoid competition law "buzzwords."
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August 07, 2024
Advocates Tell 9th Circ. To Revive Invisalign Monopoly Suit
Competition advocates are backing the revival of a class action accusing the makers of Invisalign of monopolizing the market for clear dental aligners, telling the Ninth Circuit in a new amicus brief that a district court summary judgment ruling for Align Technology creates a dangerous precedent for refusal-to-deal cases.
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August 07, 2024
Teva Finds Some Big-Pharma Friends In Inhaler Patent Fight
Two large pharmaceutical companies have weighed in to ask the Federal Circuit to overturn a ruling that found that Teva's branded drugmaking operation misused a key federal patent database in order to block the release of competing generic asthma inhalers.
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August 07, 2024
Pipe Co. Exec Says Criminal Antitrust Charges Unconstitutional
A former executive of an aluminum pipe company defending the Fourth Circuit's reversal of his bid-rigging conviction has told the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that all criminal antitrust prosecutions under Section 1 of the Sherman Act are unconstitutional, claiming they violate "fundamental constitutional principles" of nondelegation and objectivity.
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August 07, 2024
Judge Hints No-Show Amazon, Apple Plaintiff May Testify
A Washington federal judge suggested Wednesday that the original lead plaintiff in an antitrust suit accusing Amazon and Apple of restricting iPhone and iPad sales may need to testify despite his lawyers wanting to drop him from the case, questioning if it would be fair to let the plaintiff continue to dodge long overdue discovery demands.
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August 07, 2024
Amgen Waged Lawfare To Overcharge For Drug, Suit Claims
Maryland-based independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association claim pharmaceutical giant Amgen Inc. and its subsidiaries have engaged in unlawful monopolistic practices that have inflated the cost of the blockbuster drug Enbrel.
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August 07, 2024
Parts Co. Fights Bid To Pause Pratt & Whitney Antitrust Suit
A parts supplier accusing RTX Corp. subsidiary Pratt & Whitney of using illegal agreements to monopolize the aftermarket supply of their turboprop engine components asked a Pennsylvania federal court to keep discovery moving while considering the possible dismissal of the $450 million lawsuit.
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August 07, 2024
Dems Push For Scrutiny On Fox, ESPN, Warner Bros. JV
Three Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday urged the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a proposed joint venture between Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney subsidiary ESPN that would create a new streaming service called Venu Sports, arguing the partnership would lead to higher prices and fewer choices for consumers.
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August 07, 2024
6 Swipe Fee Plaintiffs 'Arbitrarily' Picked For 2025 Trial
Six retailers including department store giant Target will go to trial in 2025 on claims that Visa and Mastercard overcharged them, a Manhattan federal judge said Wednesday, explaining that he arbitrarily chose from among 60 plaintiffs in a long-running, multibillion-dollar antitrust battle.
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August 07, 2024
M&A Rebounds, But Success Hinges On Broader Economy
There was a promising uptick in mergers and acquisitions activity in the second quarter, but the rising uncertainty about the broader economy that fueled Monday's stock market free fall could cause some hesitancy among dealmakers.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban
Ahead of the Sept. 4 effective date for the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, employers should seek new ways to protect their proprietary and other sensitive information, including by revising existing confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, says Harvey Linder at Culhane.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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A Look At M&A Conditions After FTC's Exxon-Pioneer Nod
The Federal Trade Commission's recent consent decree imposing several conditions on Exxon Mobil's acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources helps illustrate key points about the current merger enforcement environment, including the probability of further investigations in the energy and pharmaceutical sectors, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.
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Attys Beware 2 Commonly Overlooked NIL Contract Issues
As name, image and likeness deals dominate high school and collegiate sports, preserving a client's NCAA eligibility should be a top priority, so lawyers should understand the potentially damaging contract provisions they may encounter when reviewing an agreement, says Paula Nagarajan at Arnall Golden.
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FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling
As Federal Trade Commission litigation against U.S. Anesthesia Partners proceeds following a Texas federal court's recent decision to dismiss a private equity sponsor from the suit, the case attempts to incorporate and advance some of the commission's theories of competitive harm from the final 2023 Merger Guidelines, say attorneys at Mintz.
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FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.
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How Employers, Attorneys Can Respond To Noncompete Ban
As the Federal Trade Commission's recently issued noncompete ban faces ongoing legal challenges, now is a good time for employers to consider whether they want to take a wait-and-see approach before halting use of noncompetes and for practitioners to gain insight into other tools available to protect their clients' business interests, says Jennifer Platzkere Snyder at Dilworth Paxson.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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The Effects Of New 10-Year Limitation On Key Sanctions Laws
Recently enacted emergency appropriations legislation, doubling the statute of limitations for civil and criminal economic sanctions violations, has significant implications for internal records retention, corporate transaction due diligence and government investigations, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
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Opinion
DOJ Messaging App Warnings Undermine Trust In Counsel
The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's increasingly ominous warnings to defense and in-house counsel about the consequences of not preserving ephemeral messaging and messages sent using collaboration tools could erode confidence and cooperation, says Mark Rosman at Proskauer.